In its “5 Questions Marketers Should Ask in 2017,” Google challenges marketers to ask themselves, “Do I have a portfolio of customer media and marketing content assets that appeal to both the immediate and longer-term needs of my customers?”

This is a question Google has had to ask itself recently, as much of its message to marketers over the past couple of years has been focused on the now—the micro-moment when customers want to act. It makes sense that Google would stress the micro-moment transaction stage of the customer journey since that’s where it has generated much of its revenue.

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Google has recently refined its message to stress the power of customer media and content beyond the earliest stages of the marketing funnel. Now, it’s focusing on the importance of investing in long-term relationships. (This is a topic we explore in the Hammock Idea Ebook, Content Along the Customer Journey.)

Google describes customer content as being used in two types of moments:

1. I want to buy moments.
2. I want to know moments.

“I want to buy moments” are those situations where consumers have seen a TV ad or are trying to find the closest restaurant or drugstore. These are the moments for which consumers use Google most often.

“I want to know moments” are those situations where customers are doing research or product owners are trying to better understand something they’ve purchased. Because so many marketers don’t have the content that serves these customers’ “I want to know moments,” they’re turning to Google to find the answer.

Google stresses that a marketer’s portfolio of media and content assets should appeal to both the immediate and longer-term needs of their customers. For example, Dave Abbott, Home Depot’s vice president of online marketing, told Google that the company has historically invested in marketing with an eye toward an immediate sale. In 2017, Home Depot will focus on topical content that has a longer shelf life.

A six-second ad can communicate a sale on mulch at the peak of the spring planting season, but it may take 60 seconds to unpack the features of a new product. “We want to make sure we’re making smart decisions there versus getting so focused on the near term,” Abbott said.

Bottomline for Marketers: In 2017, take a holistic view of the customer journey and create a range of assets that matches the right customer media and marketing content to the right moment. This includes both the near-term “I want to buy” moments and also the more long-term, relationship-building “I want to know” moments.

Image: iStock

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